The Central Receiving/Property Management/Fixed Assets Department provides for the receipt, delivery, recording, control, and removal of merchandise and equipment on campus. Capital equipment is defined per The CUNY Capital Asset Policy, which has established capitalization thresholds and designated useful life of assets. All Property information is entered into the Asset Management System; the records are maintained throughout the equipment’s/item’s recordable life cycle.

The Central Receiving Department receives, ships, checks, records, distributes and/or stores all order arrivals, and works closely with Procurement to assure the accurate receipt of items for distribution to the campus community. The Central Receiving Department provides for incoming shipments and temporary warehousing of inventory awaiting campus delivery, maintains the college’s warehouse, provides administrative offices with general office supplies, administers shipping outside of college via approval by the VP of Finance and Administration, maintains the UPS Log, and assists in the salvaging and disposing of equipment.

Property/Fixed Assets Department

Property Department operations ensure the accountability and control of all computers, equipment, furniture and other sensitive items across the college campus. In collaboration with Procurement, Accounts Payable, and other Departments, the Property Department confirms the receipt of equipment, physically tags equipment, and conducts an annual college-wide physical inventory.Fixed Asset activities include performing quarterly reconciliations and meeting other reporting requirements, administering and controlling the tagging process in accordance with The CUNY Capital Asset Policy expense thresholds, and identifying unique, sensitive items in our overall efforts to strengthen the accountability and control of all college equipment/items. This department oversees the college-wide annual physical inventory, and continuously strives to ensure robust leadership in adherence and compliance with CUNY’s Capital Asset Policy, controls, and standards. Primarily with college business partners - Buildings & Grounds, Environmental Health & Safety, Information Technology Services, and Public Safety – the Fixed Assets Department leads efforts to ensure the location safeguard, proper transfer, and removal of obsolete/non-salvageable items from the college’s inventory.All campus site deliveries are to be brought to the attention of the Central Receiving/Property Department to ensure proper accounting for the purchase, control, and recording of college items. Departments receiving site of delivery equipment/items that should be tagged, or that are unique sensitive items, should contact the Property Dept. to arrange for the equipment/items to be tagged and recorded in our Asset Management System.

Supply orders are placed bi-monthly (by the first day of the month and the fifteenth day of the month) for distribution the following week. The orders are placed online by using the General Office Supply Order Form. Please order what you need. We supply the entire campus, so please make certain your requests are reasonable. Only merchandise listed on the General Office Supply Order form is available. Any other merchandise has to be ordered through your Staples Account.

To facilitate proper service from the Property Office, the following procedures must be followed:

No personal shipments or deliveries will be accepted or shipped by the Property Office.

No orders will be accepted by the Property Office without a Purchase Order number issued by the Purchasing Office or any accredited city, state, or government agency.

Correspondence without a purchase order number will be forwarded to the mail room for distribution.

Orders placed through the Purchasing Office, Research Foundation, KCC Association, DASNY, or CUNY Central must be received only by the Property Office. Orders received or picked up personally without going through the Property Office will not get the authorization of receipt required by the Accounts Payable Office. THE BILL WILL NOT BE PAID. This also prevents the Property Office from tagging and accounting for property that has to be recorded in the City University database.

When merchandise is received by Central Receiving, each order is examined against the purchase order’s requirements to determine if the delivery’s contents are full, partial, inaccurate, and/or damaged. Upon acceptance, the stock workers create receipts for purchase orders received. Some items, e.g. computers, computer related equipment/items, projectors, audio/visual equipment, unique special custom orders, artwork, etc., may be flagged for inspection. Respective department staff will be notified.

On dock deliveries from a Parcel Service or Freight company are signed for as received, i.e. signing for the number of packages or pallets received and listed on the bill of lading. If delivery box is slightly damaged this will be noted on bill of lading. If box is badly damaged, the requestor will be contacted to accept/reject the delivery.

Central Receiving Warehouse deliveries require a review of all paperwork to ensure the accuracy, Purchase Order fulfillment, and condition of each delivery:

If full - staff signs receiving documents for the receipt of the merchandise.

If partial – only items actually received are entered on the electronic receipt.

If inaccurate

– staff calls the respective department to notify of discrepancy. If the delivery is acceptable, all items received will be entered as well as discrepancies noted as inaccurate on the receipt.

If damaged

- If the department refuses the delivery, the department will further arrange with Procurement for a replacement/resolution with the vendor. If on dock, the delivery will be refused. If the merchandise arrived in the warehouse and viewed in its packaging/box, the department will make arrangements with Procurement for a replacement/resolution with the vendor. Items are temporarily stored in the warehouse until authorized return. A receipt is not created for such deliveries.

If Central Receiving staff needs assistance, the originator /designee of the order may be called to assist in this operation. However, if errors or discrepancies are discovered when you receive the order, the Central Receiving must be immediately notified so the situation may be rectified.If IT equipment received is inaccurate/partial/damaged, the department is called, and IT will determine whether to accept and/or further test the usability of the equipment or request a return via Procurement. Accepted delivery items may be adjusted on the receipt to reflect discrepancies.

Delivery items identified as Fixed Assets:

the Stockworker will generate a CUNYfirst receipt and forward this to the Fixed Asset Administrative Manager

Fixed Asset Administrative Manager will complete a CUNY Equipment Input Form and enter this information into CUNYfirst’s Asset Management Module. This information will include:

Purchase Order Number

Location, Account Code, and Custodian of Equipment

Description of Equipment

Model and Manufacturer

Serial Number

Acquisition Date and Net Cost of item

Delivery items for the Research Foundation, KCC Association, DASNY, or CUNY Central:

When the order is received, the originator of the order will be notified by Central Receiving via phone call or email. If you also receive a two-part Notice of Receipt at Warehouse form with a blue and pink copy, this will tell you the order’s arrival date, number of cartons, weight, and if the order is complete.

The blue copy is for your records.

The pink copy has a warehouse release form section to be filled out by you to return to the Property Office. This tells us who and where to release the merchandise. DO NOT SIGN the received box on the pink copy. This is to be done when you or your designee receives the merchandise.

Return the pink copy to the Property Office, P105, mail code PO, by inter-office mail or by hand. Central Receiving/Property will affix it to the merchandise for actual delivery.

When you or your designee receives the order, sign and date the pink copy’s “received box” (print name legibly). The pink copy will be attached to the Property Office’s copy of the purchase order to serve as proof of delivery.

In accordance with the CUNY Capital Asset Policy, items received that are categorized as Fixed Assets or unique items that warrant tagging are affixed with a barcoded label known as a Tag Number (Tag#). Details of the merchandise are recorded onto the CUNY Equipment Input form then entered into the CUNYfirst Asset Management System for accountability and control in tracking the location, condition, and value of the item.

The Fixed Asset Administrative Manager is responsible for the maintenance, control, and distribution of tags, ensuring the Stock Workers appropriately tag equipment, verifying the CUNY Equipment Input form accurately records the equipment/item Tag #, and entering all descriptive information in the CUNYfirst Asset Management System, as well as verifying via printed reports, the information accurately matches the tagged asset. Reports may be generated to identify new items for tagging, which need to be verified and tagged if required.

The Supervisor of Stock Workers is responsible for overseeing the physical affixing of tags on moveable equipment and for indicating on the CUNY Equipment Input form the tag number assigned to the asset or that the asset should be identified as “Untaggable.” This form is then forwarded to the Fixed Asset Administrative Manager for entry in the Asset Management System.

Equipment/items may be transferred to another campus department or CUNY campus via completion of an Equipment Relocation/Movement form. When equipment/items requires re-locating to another campus Building/Floor/Room, the Department Head/Chairperson releasing the equipment/item for transfer initiates an Equipment Relocation/Movement form, signs the form and the receiving Department Head/Chairperson will then sign the same form once the equipment/item relocation process has finalized. The original signed form is then forwarded to Fixed Asset Administrative Manager to enter updated location and custodian information in our Asset Management System. If the relocation/transfer is inter-departmental, the Department Head/Chairperson signs for the relocation/transfer.

Our salvage processes are governed by the CUNY Fixed Assets Disposal Policy. Property that have reached the end of their life cycle, are fully depreciated, worn out, damaged, obsolete, outdated, or which are no longer useful, except for vehicles, may qualify for disposal or salvage. If items are usable but no longer needed, they may be transferred for reuse within CUNY, donated, cannibalized, provided to the NYC DCAS in accordance with the guidelines of the CUNY Fixed Assets Disposal Policy.

No equipment/item may be salvaged or disposed by yourself or by your department without the proper authorization and completion of the Equipment Disposal form. This form may be obtained here. Department Heads (or designee) will initiate the salvage/disposal process by completing an Equipment Disposal form. Prior to the removal of an equipment/item for salvage/disposal, the respective Department will work with the Environmental Health and Safety Department to ensure proper treatment of electronic equipment disposal due to potential levels of environmentally harmful and hazardous materials, and/or with IT to ensure all college data, programs, and all licensed software have been completely removed via certification by our CIO.

Once the Equipment Disposal form is completed and submitted to the Property Office, and the equipment/items identified for salvage/disposal are ready for pick-up, the Property Office will pick up small electronics/equipment; otherwise Buildings and Grounds will pick up the equipment/items and deliver to the Central Receiving/Property Warehouse where the Tag # and all college identifiable tags will be removed. The Administrative Manager of Fixed Assets will sign off on the Equipment Disposal form once the items have arrived at Central Receiving/Property and are ready for disposal/salvage.Fixed Asset Disposal Definitions

DefinitionDepreciation is the process of allocating the cost of tangible property over a period of time, rather than deducting the cost as an expense in the year of acquisition. Generally, at the end of an asset’s life, the sum of the amounts charged for depreciation in each accounting period (accumulated depreciation) will equal the original cost less the salvage value. Good accounting and financial management practices require that a University take both the cost expiration and the declining value of an asset into consideration.

Salvage ValueThe salvage value of an asset is the value the asset expects to have when it is no longer useful for its intended purpose. In other words, the salvage value is the amount for which the asset could be sold at the end of its useful life. CUNY will not be assigning salvage value for capital assets.

Estimated Useful LifeEstimated useful life means the estimated number of months or years that an asset will be able to be used for the purpose for which it was purchased. Capital assets should be depreciated over their estimated useful lives.

Designated Useful Lives

Class of Asset

Threshold

1

Building

40 years

2

Building Improvements

10-25 years

3

Land

Not depreciable

4

Land Improvements

15 years

5

Equipment

5 years

6

Furniture and Fixtures

5 years

7

Computer Software

5 years

8

Vehicles

5 years

9

Computer Hardware

5 years

10

Infrastructure

20-40 years

11

Infrastructure Improvements

10-25 years

12

Works of art/historical treasures

Not depreciable

13

Construction in Progress

Not depreciable

Full-Year ConventionTo avoid the complications of depreciating each asset from the specific date on which it was placed in service, various assets are placed in service or disposed of at designated dates throughout the year, and to this end, CUNY has elected to use the full-year convention.

Under a full-year convention, property placed in service at any time during the given year is treated as if it had been placed in service at the beginning of the year. This allows depreciation to be taken for the entire year in which the asset is placed in service. If the property is disposed of before the end of the estimated useful life, no depreciation is allowed for the year of disposition. Depreciation data will be calculated and stored by the Office of the University Controller for each eligible asset. Accumulated depreciation will be summarized and posted to the accounting general ledger.

For general capital assets, depreciation is reported on university-wide financial statements only.